Difficult Emotions and Poverty

IMPORTANT: This entry is long and contains some information that you might find shocking or upsetting. It's an account of my visit to four of Maitri's project sites two weeks back. It's overdue; I've been struggling to know what to say about it. But here is my attempt to describe what happened.

It was an emotional day. I didn’t realize beforehand just how emotional it would be. But that’s how it goes with this sort of thing. . .no matter how you try to prepare yourself, you can never fully prepare in advance. You can never understand how it will feel before you actually find yourself there.

We were in the office on Wednesday, working on revamping Maitri’s website. Sonal came and told us that we’d be going to a project site the next morning. We would be going to a health camp for rickshaw pullers. She explained that since rickshaw pullers tend to work during the day, the health camps must take place early in the morning, when they’re available.

So we went to bed extra early that night and woke up early on Thursday morning. I couldn’t get out of bed, I was so tired. Our other colleague, Anita, had warned us not to be later than 8 am. If we were late then our driver might leave without us. But we were off to a late start and got pretty anxious on the walk to the office. When we were halfway there we all realized we would be late. So we just hoped that they’d wait for us.

When we finally arrived at the office, another intern, Beleisha, informed us that the health camp had been postponed a day. I first felt frustrated at having hurried all the way to work for nothing. In the end I could only laugh about it though. I took advantage of the extra time in the office to email friends and family.

We made sure to retire early on Thursday night as well. Waking up early on Friday wasn’t any easier than the night before. But our spirits were high. I walked to work halfway expecting the camp to be cancelled altogether. I felt fine with either outcome. At the office we learned that our plans were still on for the day. I piled into a car with four of the other interns and we were driven to the first project site.

The first project site we visited was a health camp for rickshaw pullers. Well, I should really say that we went to a “slum” or a sort of shanty town and then sat next to the tent where a volunteer doctor was working. There were several other volunteers/staff hanging around, consisting partly of Maitri staff, and partly of staff from partner organizations, like the Spinal Injuries Centre.

 A very friendly young man whose name I can’t remember (I’ll call him Joe for now) took us on a tour of the slum. I was glad I had brought a scarf with because it was pretty dusty. Most of the little houses' doors were closed, so it was hard to get a good idea of what the living conditions were on the inside. A few people said "hello" to us, but other than that everyone just carried on with business as usual.

The second project site was an “overnight shelter” for homeless people. The visit lasted less than five minutes. We walked into a big room that had been partitioned off into individual rooms with makeshift curtains. We mostly saw women and children. A few little girls approached me and said “hello,” while smiling a big smile. Everyone was very welcoming.

We piled back into the car and drove through the crowded streets. Traffic was heavier in this this neighborhood than what I’m used to. There were droves of pedestrians on the sidewalks and crossing the street on every corner. I snagged this picture of the traffic behind our car at one point.

 Our driver pulled up to a building. Two kids were playing in front. One of them was naked, and the other was only partially clothed. The driver turned off the engine so we knew we were at the right place. A foul smell reached me as I stepped out of the car. Joe led us up the front steps and into the building where we were met by the project manager.

It’s a big building. The main doors open into a staircase and on either side of the staircase there is a large room. There were four stories. The smell was more intense in the staircase so I was relieved when we stopped into one of the rooms. There weren’t many people around, since most of them were off at work. In one of the rooms there were a few people sleeping on the floor. They must have been pretty exhausted; they didn’t even stir when we walked in. In another room some women were washing clothes. Each one was crouched down near the ground, pouring water from a big pot onto a garment. I wondered what they would do with the water that landed on the floor in the process. . .I don’t recall seeing a drain or anything. We were informed that (if I remember correctly) several hundred people are currently staying in the shelter, so I assume they’ll have to finish up the washing and then sleep on the same floor in the evening. One of the rooms on the top floor had some very interesting decorations. In one corner a big armchair was facing a TV. The walls in the corner were covered in pictures, some of which included images of Hindu gods. 

Joe led us from the top floor back downstairs so we could meet the group of kids who stay there. Now the smell in the stairwell was becoming unbearable. I felt sickly as I walked down the three flights of stairs. Fortunately the smell died down as we entered the next room. There was a group of about 15 kids sitting on the floor. It looked like a classroom at an elementary school. The woman who looks after them (possibly their teacher) approached me with a huge smile and said “Namaste.” Everyone was very welcoming.

Now it was time to explore around the outside of the building. We saw those kids again, not wearing clothes. We exited through the main doors and started to walk around to the back of the building. There was a bowl of food left out on the ground, and it was covered with flies. Joe showed us the restrooms and I’ll just say they weren’t pretty.

We had reached the end of the tour. We piled back in the car. No one talked and no one looked at each other. Our driver was playing some Indian music on the radio, which helped me calm down. I was hoping he’d drive us back to the office. I was suddenly not feeling up for any more exploring.

http://youtu.be/OLUWpt64GMc

Here's an example of some Indian music. I doubt we listened to this exact song, but you might check it out to get a general idea.

But, alas, we stopped at one last site on the way home. It was another, larger slum where Maitri regularly conducts health camps. This one was also home to several hundred people. We walked through the narrow paths between the different dwellings. Many of the walls are made with sheet metal. I was surprised to see electricity wires running from one little house to the other. Through the walls we could hear a few TVs switched on. Once again, the people we encountered were very welcoming and friendly. One woman saw us and offered to give us a cool glass of water. We had to refuse several times; she was very persistent. Visiting this slum was refreshing after the previous experience. I especially liked all of the animals we saw here. We encountered several rambunctious goats (so cute!), as well as some cats and a hog.

I still haven’t decided what to make of the whole experience, or what any of us can make of it. I’ve seen pictures of these kinds of places before, and I’ve heard about them. But now I’ve seen poverty, and smelled it. It’s real. I know I can’t help everyone, so do I just accept it and move on? Is that what we will all do? I don’t know what conclusions to draw from it. Any ideas?